Gas turbine engines, such as multi-spool gas turbine engines, may be used to provide propulsion power for aircraft. In most instances, an aircraft includes two redundant gas turbine engines. The gas turbine engines may be automatically controlled via an engine controller such as, for example, a DEEC (Digital Electronic Engine Controller). The engine controller receives signals from various sensors within the engine, as well as from various pilot-manipulated controls. In response to these signals, the engine controller regulates the operation of the gas turbine engine.
In addition to providing signals for use in the engine controller, various sensors also supply signals that are used to display the sensed parameter. In many aircraft, for example, the low pressure turbine speed or fan speed (N1), the high pressure turbine speed (N2), the fuel flow, the oil pressure, and the inter turbine temperature of each engine may be displayed. It is common to display like parameters for each engine together or adjacent to provide the flight crew with a visual means of comparing the operations of the two engines. For example, the inter turbine temperatures of each engine are typically displayed together or adjacent.
Although the simultaneous display of like engine parameters provides various advantages, it can also exhibit certain drawbacks. For in example, because N1 speeds are typically matched, the inter turbine temperatures may be slightly mismatched. Such mismatches may not be indicative of any type of anomaly. Indeed, on many aircraft such mismatches may occur during normal engine operations. Nonetheless, to the flight crew personnel the slight inter turbine temperature mismatches may be a nuisance and an unnecessary distraction.
Hence, there is a need for a system and method of safely and unobtrusively compensating for mismatched inter turbine temperatures between two gas turbine engines that alleviates the potential nuisance and/or distraction to the flight crew that may result from the display of the mismatch. The present invention addresses at least this need.